The largest lender in the country, State Bank of India (SBI) announces to install 150 touch-screen biometric ATM machines across the state of Gujarat by the end of the current financial year.

SBI Chief General Manager of Gujarat H C Pattnaik said, "The orders for biometric ATM's have been placed and we expect to install 150 such machines initially in important districts and talukas of the state by March end this year."

The initiative is aimed to reach out to the rural and under privileged population who can withdraw cash on the basis of their thumb impression. "Thumb impression of the customer will be captured on the electronic chip in the card and the account will be operational once he swipes it, so even the under privileged can withdraw money," said Pattnaik.

This facility is likely to facilitate around 800,000-odd milk producers in 18,000 villages of Gujarat. "All cooperatives have the data about the milk vendors and producers in their region and the same will be issued to open their savings accounts," informed Pattnaik.

The bank's representatives also told that another biometric model of banking has been launched to broaden its reach in the remote and tribal areas of the state. It will enhance the banking facilities to the doorstep of the rural population.

Pattnaik said, "As a pilot project we also launched another biometric model of banking using a telephone and SBI tiny card, in three districts of the state namely Surat, Vadodara and Dang."

All these measures are been taken by SBI as a part of its financial inclusion program.